


Accident-Prone

by PlatonicRabbit



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Human, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-15
Updated: 2015-03-15
Packaged: 2018-03-18 00:13:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,854
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3548852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PlatonicRabbit/pseuds/PlatonicRabbit
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gabriel has a crush on one of his regular customers. Unfortunately it seems that every time there’s a chance of it going somewhere, Gabriel causes one of them bodily harm.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Accident-Prone

**Author's Note:**

> The obligatory Sabriel coffee shop AU

**If you're not reading this on AO3 it has been stolen.**

‘Just freaking ask him out before you drive us all nuts,’ Anna hisses at Gabriel as the door swings shut behind Sam.

To Gabriel’s mortification, a round of “here, here” sounds through the tiny café. Even the customers agree that their barista acted like a love-struck fool in front of his last customer. 

‘I can’t, look at him being all tall and dimply and sunshiny, he’s too good for me. Besides, the height difference would be comical. People would laugh.’ 

Anna sighs and rolls her eyes. 

‘What people? Your brothers? Screw them. I thought we agreed they can all go suck each other’s dicks.’

‘I wish I could suck Sam’s dick…’

‘GABRIEL, THERE ARE CHILDREN HERE.’

 

Gabriel walks back into work for the first time in two weeks. He isn't quite recovered, but he can no longer afford the time off, so he’ll just have to make liberal use of the hand sanitiser and try not to sneeze on anything.

 _Definitely getting the flu shot from now on ___, Gabriel thinks.

Anna waves enthusiastically as soon as she sees him and Samandriel looks like he was about to cry for joy. Well, the kid had never been good at handling rush hour when they were short staffed, so Gabriel supposes his fortnight off had been a stressful experience for the junior barista.

Rush hour was just finishing and the three of them finally have a moment to breathe when Sam Winchester walks in. Gabriel sucks in a sharp breath. The moose is smiling like someone had handed him a free puppy and his own personal rainbow.

‘Gabe, you’re back! I was getting worried.’

Well, that couldn't be right. In what universe did this perfect human being give a damn about Gabriel? Sam probably just meant he was worried Samandriel would accidentally poison him. Yep, that must be it.

Gabriel mentally kicks himself for being mean to Samandriel, before he opens his mouth to reply to his favourite customer… and promptly sneezes on him.

 _Oh God oh god oh no no oh God ___, Gabriel thinks.

This couldn't be worse. Sam will hate him forever. This was the most embarrassing moment of Gabriel’s life.

Sam wipes his face with a tissue Anna had handed him. While he's distracted she gives Gabriel a look. The look she uses when somebody has forgotten to do something.  
Oh. Right.

‘I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, that was so gross and you must hate me, here you can have your coffee for free.’ 

Sam opens his mouth to reply, but it was never heard, as Gabriel is already off in a whirl of motion.

He smiles as bright as ever when Gabriel hands him his coffee (triple red eye special, for only the most hard core of caffeine addicts) but Gabriel won’t meet his eyes. Maybe one day he would make it through an encounter with Sam Winchester without totally embarrassing himself. 

 

Gabriel didn’t see Sam for a week and a half after the sneezing incident, despite working almost every day to make up for the time off. His co-workers said the giant hadn't been in when Gabriel wasn't around, either.

Anna had so far refrained from making comments about Gabriel losing the shop one of its best customers, but each time the hour between ten and eleven rolled past with no sign of the tall student she gave him a look.  
So it was totally reasonable that he was a mite shocked when Sam walked in eleven days later.  
Shocked enough that his hand slips and a jet of boiling water sprays up Gabriel’s forearm.

Okay, ow.

Seriously, ow, fuck, ow, oh sweet Jesus it was like having his skin flayed off.

Samandriel shrieks in alarm and Anna rushes out of the back room in time to see Sam hop the counter and pull Gabriel over to the sink to run his arm under cold water.  
It probably wasn’t going to help. Gabriel had been scalded by the milk frother before, though never this badly, and he could already tell this one was probably going to need a trip to the emergency room.  
Anna was shooing Sam away and telling Samandriel to watch the store, then pulling Gabriel out of the customers’ sight before he could say a word to Sam.

 

When Sam arrives the next day he looks nervous; more so upon spotting Gabriel with bandages covering his entire forearm. 

Balthazar is manning the coffee machines today, as Anna has temporarily banned Gabriel from everything except register duty. Apparently he’ll be allowed near the hot water again when he no longer has to slather half an aloe plant on his arm every day.

Gabriel lights up upon seeing his favourite customer, and Sam returns the smile, albeit with a lot more hesitation than usual. 

‘Samacaroon! We didn’t get a chance to talk yesterday; where the hell did you go all week? I thought I’d mortally offended you with the sneezing thing.’

Sam lifts an eyebrow at the nickname, which was a new one. Gabriel hands him a bright pink macaroon with a waggle of his own brow, pulling another smile from his favourite customer.  
Balthazar is making snarky comments under his breath while making Sam’s usual order, but Gabriel can’t really be bothered listening. Not while Sam is here.

‘Nah, I don’t mind a bit of spit swapping, Gabe,’ Sam finally answered, pink flooding his cheeks, and Balthazar chokes on whatever he’s saying. 

Hell, Gabriel almost chokes, and he wasn't saying anything. Surely Sam can’t have actually meant to flirt with him?

‘I caught the flu, didn’t want to come in and make everyone sick, you know? Plus I wouldn't have had the energy to walk down here most of the last couple of weeks, so I just kinda slept instead. Got a ridiculous amount of work to catch up on now, though… Life of a law student,’ Sam stops his rambling with a sigh, looking stressed.

Gabriel wishes he could kiss that sad expression away, but he swallows the impulse and hands Sam the coffee Balthazar slides over to him.

‘Well, since I probably gave you that flu to begin with, this is on the house, Samoose. Enjoy.’

Sam looks like he’s going to refuse to take the free food, but Gabriel is adamant, and the warning glare he gives Sam when he reaches into his pocket is enough to change the boy’s mind.

‘I made you burn your arm,’ he says, glancing at the thick bandages.

Gabriel snorts at that. ‘You’re not to blame for me being a moron. This I did on my own.’

He wonders if that was why Sam was so hesitant when he’d first come in. 

‘Besides, the way you leapt the counter to come to my rescue more than made up for the pain.’

The rosy glow returns to Sam’s cheeks as he takes a hasty sip of coffee, probably trying to hide his reaction. Balthazar is muttering to himself again, like he does every time Gabriel speaks to Sam in his presence. Well, Balthazar’s an ass.

 

It’s been five weeks and Gabriel is finally allowed to do his job again.

He comes in to the shop with his arm bare for the first time since the accident and Samandriel can’t help but stare at the enormous, shiny scar.  
Gabriel decides not to say anything; the kid had looked like he was going to cry when the injury first happened and again when he first saw the bandages, so Gabriel is counting shocked staring as an improvement.

Sam walks in pretty much the second rush hour ends.  
He’s been showing up suspiciously often just when Gabriel has a free moment, but it’s probably due to a change in his class schedule leaving him with an awkwardly timed break. A kid like that wouldn't be hanging out with a tiny barista prone to accidental self-injury and infecting his customers with nasty viruses if he had someplace else to go.

‘Hey, look, Sampsterdam, no bandages,’ is Gabriel’s greeting.

Sam grabs his arm and holds it up for inspection.

‘You’re going to have to come up with an epic story to explain this. You could tell people you got it pulling a kitten from a fire, or in a war, or maybe you fought off a dragon.’

‘Ooh, definitely going with the dragon one. This wound is from the evil dragon Milk Steamerus, who kidnapped the fair Princess Samuel, who eventually ended up saving my ass from said dragon when it breathed fire all over me.’

Sam adopts a flustered expression and can't seem to come up with a response. He busies himself with pulling his money out and paying, and Gabriel smiles to himself.

 

‘The usual, Samacaroni?’

‘Uh, surprise me. Not really in the mood for espresso. Exams are over, no need to keep myself up all night.’

Hmm. Gabriel’s never selected coffee for Sam before. And Sam never orders food, but whenever Gabriel slips him something on the house he consumes it with the same relish, no matter what it is.  
Gabriel has had very little luck discovering what Sam’s taste in food is, despite serving him almost every day for half a year. 

Well, he said no espresso. So maybe something nice and creamy and sweet? The sort of thing Gabriel might make for himself on his more subdued days.  
Gabriel’s eyes fall on the cream and hazelnut blend and he grins.

They continue to chat while Gabriel makes the coffee, leaving Anna to serve any other customers who wander in.  
Sam constantly seems on the verge of asking something, but always changes at the last second to some innocuous comment.  
Gabriel is getting curious about what’s really on the boy’s mind, but he figures if it’s important, Sam will say something.

He dusts cinnamon over the frothy, milky beverage and passes it to Sam with a flourish. Sam’s lightbulb smile appears and he thanks Gabriel, taking a second to breathe in the rich blend before he drinks.

‘It’s amazing, Gabe. Wow. I should buy stuff like this more often; bitter isn't really my thing.’

Gabriel almost preens under Sam’s praise, and busies himself wiping off the machine to hide his elation from Sam.

A few minutes later he looks up to see Sam frowning at his cup and moving his lips in a strange, experimental way.

Sam looks at him.

‘Gabriel,’ he says, and his voice sounds odd; slurred, almost.

‘There aren't hazelnuts in this are there?’

The grin falls from Gabriel’s face. Sam sounds like he’s talking through a mouthful of cotton balls and his lips are visibly swollen compared to a few minutes ago.

‘Yeah, there are.’

_Don’t panic. Don’t panic_. Gabriel thinks. _Oh dear God I just poisoned him_. 

Sam seems to be having difficulty breathing, and Gabriel has no idea what to do. Does Sam have an inhaler? Does he need to call an ambulance? Give him mouth-to-mouth? A tracheotomy? 

‘Call… ambulance…’ Sam wheezes, bracing himself on the wall and holding his throat. Anna is already on the phone, though, and when she hangs up she takes charge of the situation.  
Gabriel is left standing helpless, half panicking and with no idea of how to help Sam.

 

Gabriel watches as the ambulance carries Sam away. He’d definitely heard the paramedics use the phrases “severe reaction” and “anaphylactic shock”.

Sam’s coffee sits on the table, stone cold and only half drunk. Viciously, Gabriel picks it up and throws it in the trash.

This time he’s sure he’s driven Sam off for good. No way will the kid keep buying coffee off a guy who nearly killed him.

 

Gabriel is standing outside the hospital room, a bunch of plastic flowers in hand (the internet claimed hazelnut allergies often go with hay fever and plant allergies and Gabriel is taking no chances).

He’s been dithering over whether to go in or give the fake flowers to a nurse and leave. Sam won’t want to see his would-be assassin.

A blondish guy in a leather jacket strides down the hall, faltering when he catches sight of Gabriel.

‘You the guy who tried to poison my baby brother?’

Gabriel pales. He’s heard stories about Dean and what he does to people who hurt Sam.  
Up until now Gabriel had thought he would get along well with Sam’s brother. 

He nods, shakily, knowing he should be apologising, but size apparently runs in the family, and while he’s shorter than Sam, Dean could still probably step on Gabriel.  
Instead of trying to break his neck, Dean breaks into a grin.

‘Sammy hasn't shut up about you for months. Good to finally put a face to the name; I thought I was going to have to go visit you at work since Sam never brings you around.’

Wait. Is Dean under the impression that Sam and Gabriel are involved? How would he have gotten that idea? Gabriel is the smitten one, not Sam. 

‘Go in there and apologize for trying to kill him, then just freaking kiss him or something, I’m sick of his whining about how he wants to ask you out.’

Okay, so maybe Gabriel isn't the only smitten one. Or maybe Sam knows how he feels and this is revenge for the attempted murder thing.

Seeing that Gabriel isn't going to move, Dean steps around him and opens the door before yanking Gabriel forward by his upper arm and calling out, ‘Sammy, look who I found!’

Gabriel is shoved the rest of the way into the room as Dean makes a hasty retreat.

Sam is sitting in bed, watching Gabriel and smiling as if the guy hadn't recently hospitalised him.

Could he be any more adorable?

Gabriel realises he’s staring and awkwardly holding the fake flowers and he moves to put them down by the window, just to give himself something to look at other than Sam’s far too cheerful face.

It’s Sam who breaks the silence.

‘I didn’t have a chance to tell you before, but the coffee you made was really nice. Up until I almost died. But even then, it tasted nice. Uh, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I had allergies, this is totally my fault for not checking. I probably really scared you, and I’m sorry.’

Gabriel is speechless for a good ten seconds.

‘Sam, I almost killed you. You don’t need to be sorry for that, I should never have fed you nuts without asking. So, uh, I came to apologise, and to tell you Anna said you get free coffee for life if you want to keep coming in, but I’d totally understand if you never wanted to come near the store again. And I can quit, or start working afternoons only, if you don’t want to have to see me there.’

Sam is frowning at him.

‘At what point did I give you the impression I was angry? It was totally my fault for not mentioning the nut thing, Gabriel.’

‘Well, I was the one who forgot the workplace health and safety regulations!’

Gabriel and Sam scowl at each other, both unaware of how close Gabriel has moved to the bed during the conversation. Gabriel blinks and realises he can feel Sam’s breath on his face.

‘For the love of God would you two just kiss already?’

Apparently Dean hadn't been able to resist the urge to eavesdrop. Sam is staring at the door frame his brother’s voice had emerged from, clearly horrified. Dean is staring, pointedly, and leaning on the door in a way that suggests he’s not going anywhere anytime soon.

‘I put your brother in hospital. You should be trying to stab me, not setting him up with me!’

‘Do you want me to try to stab you? Cause I would, if Sammy didn’t like you so much.’

‘Dean!’

‘What? You were never going to say anything, and the guy showed up here with flowers, Sam. Plastic flowers, because he’s some kind of weirdo, but you like him so I guess that was a given.’

Gabriel still thinks the brothers must be playing a trick on him. But just in case… his eyes drop to Sam’s lips.  
He’s just about to lean in when Sam does it for him. It’s over as soon as it starts and Sam is back to glaring at Dean, who grins in a vaguely disturbing way and (finally) takes his leave.

Gabriel is staring wide eyed at Sam, who just smiles and leans in to kiss him again.

‘There are easier ways of asking someone out than putting them in hospital, you know,’ Sam says against Gabriel’s neck after they finally break apart.

‘Well, it seems to have worked out pretty well. Not sure I’m going to go for the same tactic if I ever get around to proposing though.’

‘I’d appreciate that.’

Gabriel laughs and settles down in Sam’s lap, twisting around to kiss him again.

‘Gabriel?’

‘Yeah?’

‘You just ripped my IV out.’

 **If you're not reading this on AO3 it has been stolen.**

**Author's Note:**

> SWEET CHUCK WHY CAN I NOT WRITE FLUFF PROPERLY?  
> Every single time I try to write fluff I brutally wound at least one of my characters. This time, they were both seriously ill with a virus, Gabriel got second degree burns and Sam almost died from anaphylactic shock. I mean… am I an abusive writer? Is this normal?  
> Oh and as to the severity of Gabriel’s burn; I have a cousin who did pretty much the exact thing he did and she has a burn scar from wrist to elbow on the inside of her arm.  
> Coffee shops are freaking dangerous to work in.


End file.
